The Malhotra Bride (17 page)

her, the darker the shade
.
”

Sunita turned red as Akshay and
Dadaji
roared with laughter.

“Jokes apart, it’s the truth,” insisted
Dadaji
.

“I can’t wait to see it. Should I come over later at night?” Akshay whispered in Sunita’s ear, a

devilish grin on his face.

She refused to look at him. Sandhya and Raghu came in with their lunch, teasing her some more. She

was thrilled to see her fiancé getting along so well with her family.

Sunita couldn’t hide her disappointment as Akshay got up to leave.

He touched her cheek. “Just need to tie up a few loose ends. Bye Sandhya, Raghu,” he shook his

brother-in-law’s hand. “See you tomorrow,
Dadaji
.”

Nineteen

Akshay did visit Sunita late in the evening. There was a reason for it.

When he reached his office after leaving his fiancée’s
Mehendi
party, Sara handed an envelope to

him saying, “The lawyer sent this through his office boy Akshay.”

Wondering what it was, he sat at his desk to open the cover. His face blanched when he saw ‘Pre-

nuptial Agreement’ at the top.

He had forgotten all about the contract he promised Sunita. They had grown so close that he had

become confident that theirs was a normal wedding. The lawyer obviously hadn’t forgotten the

instructions he gave him a few weeks back. In time too!

Tomorrow morning was the wedding ceremony. His fiancée would expect to have this contract in

place, even if he wasn’t keen. He couldn’t go back on his promise to her. As it is, she had no great

faith in men. What if she hated him for cheating her of the contract wedding he had promised?

He didn’t want to read what the lawyer said. What did it matter? The joy of the past few weeks

looking forward to marrying the woman he loved had gone for a toss. Just because he had fallen for

her didn’t mean that she loved him too.

She responded so well to his kisses. But that could just be physical chemistry. Indian women were

rarely given a choice but to accept the husbands chosen for them. Sunita after all had been brought up

in such a traditional environment.

He wanted to tear up the papers in front of him, even burn them down. But how could he do that? He

couldn’t go back on his word.

It’s a wonder that Sunita hadn’t brought up the topic in all these days. He pushed the pages back into

the cover without reading what they had to say. He’d go meet her after work.

SUNITA WAS SURPRISED BY HER LATE NIGHT VISITOR. She hadn’t expected to meet Akshay

before the wedding tomorrow. He looked so serious too. Was something wrong? He wasn’t going to

cancel the wedding at the last minute, was he? A small frown appeared on her face as he walked into

her room.

“Sunita,” his voice was hoarse. “The pre-nup agreement I promised to you on the day we met. The

lawyer delivered it only today. I thought it best we sign it before the wedding tomorrow.” There was

no emotion in his voice.

She was shocked to the core of her being. She had forgotten all about his pledge just a week after

meeting him. She had brushed it off as a joke when they got to know each other better. She thought he

liked her a lot, even if he didn’t love her. Obviously not! Why would he insist on signing the contract

otherwise? And she’d gone and fallen in love with this guy. She bent her head so that he wouldn’t

notice that the colour had completely disappeared from her face.

“Tell me where I should sign,” she said; her voice devoid of emotion.

“You should read it first,” he advised.

She couldn’t care less. “I’m sure you have covered all the points. I’m too tired to read it. Just tell

me where you need my signature,” she insisted.

He took her signature on all three pages of two copies, wrote his own name under hers before

handing over one set to her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said and left.

That was it! No hug, no kiss. He obviously didn’t care for her. Tears running down her face, Sunita

tore the contract into tiny pieces before throwing them in the dustbin.

Twenty

September 13th dawned with showers, the sky as heavy as Sunita’s heart. But by eight o’ clock, the

clouds had cleared way to brilliant sunshine. Should she take hope from that? Her heart refused to be

cowed down. The grass and trees shone a bright green as the dust and grime were washed away.

The
muhurat
for the wedding was set for 11.30 am; the wedding to be performed by
Arya Samaj

rites at Malhotra Park.

The Rishis and their guests left well in time to arrive at Akshay’s home by nine. He couldn’t have

asked for a better-looking bride.

She wore a dark red silk sari that was brocaded in gold
zari
and a matching blouse; a red and gold

tikka
on her forehead. Gold eye shadow and a thin line of dark brown eyeliner made her gorgeous

eyes shine green. Her cheeks were highlighted with a pale shimmer while her lips pouted a rich red

shade.

Long diamond earrings danced on her ears as a diamond neck piece reached down to her navel. A

broad gold necklace shaped her slender throat along with a thick gold chain that fell midway between

the two. Her hair was braided neatly and adorned with flowers and she wore a thin gold chain at the

hair parting which had a small pendant falling on to her forehead. With gold bangles on her wrist and

payal
on her ankles, Sunita glowed in her bridal wear.

Akshay wore a cream silk brocaded
churidhar
and
sherwani
. The long coat buttoned down the

front and fell down below his knees. He wore a head dress of red
bandini
. This
pagadi
was the same

shade as Sunita’s sari. There was a red
tikka
on his forehead and diamond earrings twinkled on his

earlobes.

First was the
chooda
ceremony, performed by the bride’s maternal uncle. Since Leela had no

brother, her cousin Liladhar
mama
came forward to present Sunita with bangles made of ivory, both

red and natural. Sunita was made to sit on a raised platform. Liladhar took out the white and red

bangles, nine for each arm and washed them with milk over a silver tray placed in front of the bride.

Then he wiped them dry on a towel and placed them on Sunita’s arm, the red and white alternating.

A special
mandap
had been constructed in the middle of the hall. This temporary platform with

wooden pillars and domed roof was decorated with a myriad of flowers and coloured curtains.

The bride and groom were led there. They were both handed garlands made of fresh roses as they

stood in the middle of the
mandap
, facing each other. They had to exchange
varmalas
, to publicly

acknowledge their chosen spouse. First it was Sunita’s turn to garland her husband-to-be. She did it

gracefully, a blush stealing up her cheeks. She gave him a shy smile, wiping the thought of the contract

from her mind. Then it was Akshay who placed the garland around her beautiful neck.

She was instructed by the
panditji
to invite her groom to sit on one of the low throne-like chairs

provided for the two of them. Once he was seated, she took the chair beside him, giving him a silver

tumbler of water.

Akshay stared at the
mehendi
on her hands. The colour was dark, just as Grandpa had predicted. He

caught her hand as he took the tumbler and opened it, palm upwards. The design was perfect. Didn’t

that tell her of his love?

Having tried to pull her hand back in vain, Sunita gave him a look from under her long lashes. He

gave her a sly wink, drawing her attention to the
mehendi
. Colour ran up her cheeks as she hoped

against hope that
Dadaji
was right.

The
panditji
claimed Akshay’s attention by clearing his throat loudly. He sat on a wooden platform

placed at right angles to the bride and groom, giving them instructions during the ceremony. Akshay

washed his hands over a silver bowl placed on the side and drank the rest of the water from the silver

tumbler Sunita had given him.

The
panditji
handed a small silver bowl with a spoon to Akshay. This contained
madhurpak
, a

mixture of ghee and honey. Akshay sprinkled a little bit of this in all four directions. Then he offered

it spoon by spoon to the guests who came forward before taking some for himself.

A
havan kund
made of bricks had been set up before the wedding couple. A copper container

holding pieces of wood and cow dung cakes that are used as fuel during the fire ceremony was placed

within. The
panditji
set a small stick of fire to the container. It burnt slowly as he added ghee from

time to time.
Agni
, the Lord of fire is the most important witness to a Hindu wedding ceremony.

The bride’s parents, Leela and Gokul Rishi came forward to perform the
kanya daan
, giving away

their virgin daughter to her groom
.
Together, her parents took Sunita’s right hand and placed it in

Akshay’s. Then with folded hands they requested him to protect, cherish and take care of her in the

same way they had done since her birth.

The two got a small break while the Rishis presented the Malhotras with the new clothes and

jewellery they had bought for them. Then it was the Malhotras’ turn to reciprocate.

Akshay sensed Sunita’s nervousness and stroked the hand he was holding, bringing a semblance of

calm.

Hindu weddings are noisy and this one was no different as the
shehnai
wailed over the guests

talking nineteen to a dozen. They spilled over into the grounds where a marquee had been set up and

chairs laid out in neat rows.

The
panditji
got back to Akshay and Sunita. They repeated the
mantras
from the Rig Veda after the

panditji
, holding hands as instructed. The
panditji
kept adding ghee to the fire and chanted prayers

for fire worship.

Then Akshay was asked to hold Sunita’s hand and take six vows promising to look after her and

cherish her. He did this solemnly in front of
Agni
and elders present.

Amidst the chanting of
mantras
, Akshay and Sunita went four times around the fire. In the first three

rounds, Sunita prayed for her husband’s well being as instructed. In the last and fourth round, it was

Akshay’s turn to render a prayer for his bride.

The
pallu
of Sunita’s sari was tied to one end of the shawl draped on Akshay’s shoulder. The knot

contained some rice, flowers and coins, all symbols of prosperity. Then they performed the

Saptapadikriya
, taking the seven steps together as one. This symbolised the beginning of their lives

together as man and wife.
Mantras
were chanted as they took each step forward.

The steps symbolised what they would always share with one another. Each step was a promise.

The first was for food, the second for strength. The
panditji
explained the significance to Akshay,

Sunita and the audience. The third was taken for wealth, the fourth for happiness. The two of them

were bound together by the auspiciousness of the moment. Then came the fifth step. This was for

family, the sixth step was taken for sharing conjugal rights and finally the seventh and most important

step was for friendship. Sunita blinked away the dampness in her eyes at the poignancy of the

ceremony.

Dadaji
had tears of joy in his eyes as he watched the ritual, which bound his beloved granddaughter

to Akshay forever.

Then prayers were offered to
Suryadeva
for a life of eternal bliss. Akshay placed the red
sindoor
at

the top of Sunita’s forehead at the beginning of her hair parting, completing the ceremony. The two of

them went forward to take the blessings of all the elders starting with Grandpa Ratan.

All the guests enjoyed the sumptuous and elaborate lunch served at one end of the marquee. Akshay

and Sunita sat on their chairs at the other end as the guests queued up to offer their best wishes.

Twenty-one

It was six by the time the newlyweds left for their honeymoon suite at Taj Lands End. Leela gave

her daughter a tearful farewell. Sandhya hugged her younger sister wishing her luck. Gokul appeared

rather shaken that his newfound daughter was leaving him. He hugged her awkwardly, at a loss for

words. Sunita broke down in tears when she went up to Grandpa Ratan to take his leave.
Dadaji
held

her close to his heart and consoled her, his own eyes wet.

“Go, my child, and lead a happy life with Akshay. He’s a good boy and loves you so much that he’ll

cherish you till the end of your lives.”

Sunita looked at
Dadaji
, unable to tell him the truth. She felt sad that he was taken in by their

playacting. She wondered what would happen after three years. Will she have the strength to leave the

man she loved with all her heart? Fresh tears lined her cheeks. Luckily for her, no one guessed the